federal grant funding

Recently, I have been asked by a number of my younger (in terms of degree, not necessarily age) friends and colleagues about how to find a postdoc, what to look for, and what questions to ask. As I am currently in my third postdoc, I feel I am somewhat an expert on how to find a mentor and what makes for a good postdoc experience, and I am honored that people think enough of me and my career to ask.So, the following are some tips based on my experiences…

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Before you do anything else, decide if a postdoc is really for you. Sure, a postdoc seems like the next logical step.Maybe your current PI is not supportive of a career outside academia or you have dreamed your entire life of running your own lab.Whatever your circumstances are, make sure that your heart is in it.The current world economic status does not make life easy for an academic scientist.Grants are hard to come by.Faculty positions are elusive.There are plenty of hurdles that you have to jump over.It is possible to be a successful academic, but if you aren’t committed, maybe you should think about an alternative career.There are several options…medical science liaison, entrepreneur, policy, scientific writer, clinical research associate, industry, patent lawyer (with a law degree)…many of which pay more than being an academic researcher and have better hours.

A new program designed by Science Careers called My Individual Development Planis a great resource for scientists looking to pursue alternative career paths.You can learn more about it here.

Start looking early!

It is never too early to start making connections, thinking about how you would like your research career to evolve, and what you are willing to sacrifice (location?) to get what you really want (the ideal mentor? a specific research project?).This is especially important if you will be moving to a different country (you will need time to apply for the correct visas and other documents). I suggest coming up with a short list of people you would like to work for or the type of research you would like to pursue (be as specific as possible) about a year in advance, if possible.Start asking your current PI, your committee members, and other connections if they know the person or anyone at the university.Get on LinkedIn and see if you know anyone that could make an introduction.Make a point to introduce yourself at a conference and talk to their current and past students and postdocs.These are the people that will give you an honest interpretation of the laboratory environment that you’re looking to enter.Or better yet, visit RateMyPI.com to see if they have been reviewed or to search for PIs with good reviews at specific universities or by location.The more information you have the better.

Apply for your own funding.

If you have an idea for the research that you would like to do, apply for your own funding (most grants/awards have border restrictions, so be sure to check). There are several avenues to obtain funding, not just federal.Think outside the box.You are much more appealing to PIs if your salary and/or research is already covered.This might be the only way to work for your ideal PI since funding a post doctoral research takes a large chunk of funding from already tight budgets.

Get everything in writing.

You are about to graduate or have recently received your degree. You have a postdoc lined up.Things are great!Hopefully everything goes as planned, but be prepared for some bumps.Before completely committing to a postdoc (or any position, for that matter) get a signed (by you and the PI and even another authority at the university if possible/appropriate) offer letter detailing anything and everything.It should include your salary/year, the hours/week you are expected to work, the project you will be working on, the length of the commitment, the amount of paid vacation and sick days, where your funding will come from, and anything else you think might be important.It should detail what is expected of you and what is expected of your supervisor.This is not only for your benefit (you don’t want to pack up and move to another country only to realize that your new supervisor does not have the funds to support you…and I speak from experience on this one), but also for your new PIs benefit (the standards that you will be held to are spelled out).I cannot stress the importance of this enough.

Think ahead.

I personally think that experiencing a postdoc in another country is a wonderful idea. It puts you outside your comfort zone, you get to look at your research from another point of view, you can start making worldwide collaborations, and you get a chance to travel and grow both personally and professionally.However, if you decide to do this, the day you start your new position, is the day you should be thinking about your next.Will this postdoc only last a year or two and then you will do another one?Maybe you plan on staying there longer and then go straight into a faculty/professor/research position?Whatever the case, know what will be expected of you to make the next transition.Did you know that it can be harder to obtain funding from your country of citizenship if you do not currently reside/work there, even if you are planning on returning?Even if you have a great research plan, you may need to be associated with a university in that country before you can get funded.This could mean doing another postdoc before you get funded so that you can have a strong application for that faculty position.

There you have it. That is my first round advice for researchers that will graduate soon or have recently received their PhD.Please help others by leaving your comments and let me know if there are some other questions you want answered.

I was browsing the internet the other day and saw a link for “Grants to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Science and Technology for Women”. Being a woman in science and a new entrepreneur, I decided to click on the link.What it took me to was a slightly informative, and incredibly self-serving articlein Forbes written by the United States Chief technology Officer, Todd Park.The title was “What Efforts Has President Obama Made While In Office To Encourage Entrepreneurship And Innovation?”I read on hoping to get to the part that is specific to women entrepreneurs in science…

“Promoting high-growth entrepreneurship” where I learned that the Administration has committed to match $2 billion private investments in high growth companies, is trying to make it easier for graduates to manage their student loans, and is taking credit for Startup America Partnershipconnecting startups with private-sector funding.Why is our government so interested in funding startups?As someone heavily invested in a startup, I think it is great, but as a taxpayer I think that there are several other places that you can go to fund a startup, such as angel investor groups, the bank, and other private-sector funding/grants.Our country is in enough debt.Let’s put our capitalistic roots to good practice.Dreams can and do come true in America, but it is not the government’s job to supply us with the seed money.

Under “Helping accelerate technology breakthroughs” I learned about the Obama Administration’s advancements in space exploration…umm, aren’t we moving away from NASA and towards privatization of space exploration?

Sadly, there was nothing on opportunities for women entrepreneurs in science.

The article also reiterates the Administration’s stance on science and technology and that more people need to go into science. In the next decade they plan to have an additional 100,000 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers and graduate 10,000 more engineers every year.However, the article did not acknowledge that if you do decide to pursue the STEM path that it is going to be hard to get a position in academia and the funding that is often required to obtain said position.Leaving the other main option of going into industry where the positions are also scarce due to outsourcing and downsizing.Maybe that is why the article focuses on entrepreneurs.With the overabundance of highly educated and specialized STEM workers, we are going to need to be able to fabricate our own jobs.

RateMyPI.com does not endorse any candidate, but we do urge you to research their stance on issues important to you. For a good overview on the candidate’s scientific platforms we encourage you to visit AAAS.org.

Science Magazine ran an article today that I thought would be great to share with the readers of RateMyPI.com.

In 2011, the NIH started a program called the Director’s Early Independence Award. This award was designed to fast track scientist directly out of graduate school to independent research positions, essentially skipping post doctoral research.Recipients of this grant are awarded $250,000 per year for a total of five years to essentially manage their own laboratories at a host institution.Host institutions are required to provide laboratory space and equipment, but the NIH advises against appointment to tenure-track positions.This allows the awardees to focus on research without hearing the tick-tick-tick of the tenure timeline.

This program started in response to the increasing age where researchers achieve a tenure-track position. Currently, the median age to achieve research independence is 37.Achieving scientific independence at such a late stage in life dissuades many young scientists from pursuing careers in academia and greatly reduces the lifetime earning potential of extremely intelligent individuals.

The biggest hurdle facing this program is helping transition awardees away from institutions where they earned their PhD’s. It becomes difficult to gain a sense of independence when your graduate school advisors are just a few doors away.After five years of going to them for advice, it becomes difficult to break that pattern and start standing on your own two feet.

This is where RateMyPI.com can help. By providing a portal to locate the best institutions and research groups to help progress your careers, we help remove the uncertainty of moving across country, or even out of country, for a career opportunity.

The 2013 Early Independence Award deadline is approaching. Please visit the NIH website to learn more about this amazing opportunity for young scientists.

The results of a survey conducted by The Scientist determined the best places to work for life science academics. Many of the names on the list were not a surprise (J. David Gladstone Institutes, Massachusetts General Hospital, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the University of Groningen to name a few). What was surprising was that 9 of the top 25 places to work listed “Teaching and Mentoring” as one of their top weaknesses.9 out of 25.And we wonder why it takes so long for an academic to get their first independent grant funded.Even at the top institutions supportive infrastructure is not in place to prepare young scientists to succeed at the next level.The top three institutions (and 5 out of the top 6) are considered to be weak in teaching and mentoring yet according to the survey they receive approximately 55 million US dollars in federal funding (~517 million US$ for the top 6!).The Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle, WA) is the highest rated institute to have teaching and mentoring as a strength…and they are ranked 7th!In light of all of this, it makes it even more important to know who you are working for.Many researchers incorrectly assume that working at one of these top 25 institutions is enough to advance their careers. Unfortunately, you might not be receiving the much needed support and guidance from senior scientists during the early stages of your career.